A HEFTY fine has been handed out to a large Cumbrian farming business for a catalogue of record keeping failures which could have led to the spread of cattle diseases.

Colin Dent, and his wife Yvonne, of Bridge End Farm, Kirkby Thore, near Appleby, were sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court following a detailed investigation into malpractice by Cumbria County Council's Trading Standards officers.

They were fined a total of £52,500 and ordered to pay £7,500 in prosecution costs after pleading guilty at Carlisle Magistrates Court to ten specimen offences. A further 613 related offences to be taken into consideration.

The hearing was told that during its investigation, Cumbria Trading Standards found that the Dents had bought cattle from a herd disposal in West Cumbria which was subsequently confirmed as being badly infected with bovine tuberculosis. This lead to further investigations, which revealed the farm had failed to report the deaths of hundreds of cattle and keep correct records.

It also came to light that cattle which the farm had stated to the vet conducting the TB tests as being dead were in fact alive and had not been tested.

The catalogue of charges which the business pleaded guilty to included:

L One offence of breaching a notice by failing to TB test cattle (fined £2,500)

L Two offence of failing to ensure cattle which had died on farm were tested for BSE (fined £5,000 for each offence)

L Two offences of failing to record the deaths of cattle in the herd registers (fined £5,000 for each offence)

L One offence of failing to report a movement from the holding in the herd register (fined £5,000)

L Two offences of failing to report deaths of cattle to the British Cattle Movement Service within seven days (fined £5,000 for each offence)

L Two offences of failing to record the destination of carcases of cattle which had died on farm (fined £5,000 for each offence)

At sentencing Recorder Philip Curran declared that after taking into consideration the defendants had no previous history of failure, had co-operated with the authorities, and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity he had reduced the penalty by one third.

He commented that the farm was a very substantial business and noted the devastation caused in Cumbria during the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak and the threat posed by TB.

Phil Greenup, Cumbria County Council’s Trading Standards Senior Manager, said: “The spread of disease can have a devastating impact on farmers and the rural economy. Although the fine may seem like a lot for one business, it is nothing compared to the potential cost to the local economy that the Dents were risking through their poor monitoring practices.

"We recognise that the majority of farmers take their responsibilities seriously, but this sends a clear message to those who don’t that Trading Standards will thoroughly investigate and prosecute when necessary.”